Does Blocking Hostnames Consume Resources?

  • Resolved Anonymous User 9948090

    (@anonymized-9948090)


    6 years, 1 month ago

    I remember reading somewhere that if we block visitors based on hostnames, it utilizes more resources.

    So my question is, if I use Wordfence blocking feature to block selected hostnames, will it consume more resources?

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

  • Hi @yet-another-wp-user,

    In order to get the hostname, we reverse their IP using gethostbyaddr (within lib/wfUtils.php:1296).

    This function does take a few seconds to complete, but the hostname is then cached in the database (wfReverseCache) for future lookups.

    So to answer your question, it does consume more resources, but only on the first lookup of a new hostname.

    Dave

    Thread Starter Anonymous User 9948090

    (@anonymized-9948090)

    So currently I’m blocking 3 hostnames using Wordfence blocking feature, it means its utilizing more resources?

    Also does it increase website loading time? Does it make any affect on website performance?

    Yes, Wordfence will expend more resources on reversing IP addresses into hostnames.

    Website loading time will be slower on the first connection, but when Wordfence has cached the IP -> hostname, subsequent connections will no longer take longer/use more resources.

    Dave

    Thread Starter Anonymous User 9948090

    (@anonymized-9948090)

    Ok. Thanks for the info.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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